


Inside Your Head

by Agent_Of_Something, ElodieCarterERogers



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), fitzsimmons - Fandom
Genre: Agents of SHIELD, Alternate Universe - Evil, Alternative Univers, Cerebral Machine, F/M, Hydra (Marvel), Love/Hate, Marvel References, Marvel Universe, Minor Violence, Non-Explicit Sex, The Framework Universe (Marvel), The Tesseract (Marvel), Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:26:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29379906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agent_Of_Something/pseuds/Agent_Of_Something, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElodieCarterERogers/pseuds/ElodieCarterERogers
Summary: The Doctor Leopold Fitz from HYDRA is looking for the Tesseract's secrets. He kidnappes Agent Jemma Simmons from SHIELD, pulling her into a virtual reality to get the answers he needs. But Agent Simmons gets a love attraction for his kidnapper and things starts to get worse when the two worlds fuse between them.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Comments: 25
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My co-writter and friend, Neta, and I wrote this new story again about the Doctor and Jemma. This one is kinda closed of the episode of the season 4 with the Framework part. Hope you're gonna like this one as much as we loved to write it, and don't hesitate to give us your thoughts about in the comments. 
> 
> As always, Neta writes for Jemma, and I write for Fitz/The Doctor. 
> 
> Enjoy :D

Jemma was on an op. Just a simple op. Hydra was about to launch an attack and she was supposed to get everyone out safely. It was supposed to be an easy job.

Supposed to be the key word.

She never would have imagined a surprise ambush that resulted in a bag being thrown over her head and shoved into the back of a car.

And that was what happened.

HYDRA soldiers pushed her harshly into a room and forced her to sit on a chair where they tied her wrists. Then, one of them took off the bag over her head and she could discover where she was. 

“Where am I? Who the hell are you?” She asked frantically. “What have you done?” She could not be kidnapped yet again.

Nobody answered her and waited silently in each corner of the room.

Suddenly, the Doctor entered.

He barely looked at the subversive and turned completely to the mirror where he looked at him. What he was seeing was wonderful and perfect. His reflection was exactly as he wanted to show to people: a handsome man, genius, full of strength and power.

The Doctor unbuttoned his jacket and flattened his hair on the side, nodding to himself. He then finally turned to the subversive, sitting on the chair, hands in his pockets.

His eyes got stuck on her for a while. She was beautiful, he could not deny it. A young woman, pale with an oval face full of freckles. Her lips were pink and looked to be very soft, contrasting with the little injury she had on her lower lip. Yeah, she was good to look at and in other circumstances, he could try to know her. But she was the enemy and he only wanted her for information.

Walking a little to her, he looked quickly to the badge on the desk to know her name.

“Jemma Simmons, Agent of SHIELD. Nice to meet you.” He said with a cold voice and a cold look.

His piercing blue eyes bore into her brown ones. They were ocean blue despite the drab gray of the walls. She started to get lost in them before noticing his immaculate, no lint found three-piece suit. His hair parted neatly and perfectly. Not one hair out of place. His beard trimmed to a T. He was attractive, there was no doubt about that. But he was evil. He was Hydra. There was no place for attraction here.

“Not me.” She gave it right back at him, narrowing her eyes. She had nothing to give. She was a regular old SHIELD agent. What did he want to know? She could lie and say false information, or not say anything at all.

He let a small smirk appear on the corner of his lips and stepped back to look at himself once again in the mirror.

“So, Jemma.” He said with a soft voice. “You know why you’re here. And to be honest, it was so easy for HYDRA to catch you. How SHIELD could have sent someone like you? Was this your first field mission?” He looked at her through the mirror.

Jemma stayed silent. She couldn’t afford to let out any type of information. No matter how intimidating or appealing he was. No matter how fast her heartbeat was when he came near her. No matter how much she wanted to get lost in his deep blue eyes. She stayed silent.

“I’m not surprised,” He continued. “SHIELD has always had this idea of bringing together the most useless and crappy of its agents. It’s not new. You’ll be just another collateral damage from this stupid organization that claims to “save the world.”

He turned to her, his face cold as ice. “The Tesseract. I want to know everything about it.”

Jemma tilted her head to the side. As long as she could help it, she wasn’t telling him anything. Something as powerful as the Tesseract in the wrong hands could lead to mass destruction. Hydra, and that includes this handsome man, were definitely the wrong hands. She continued to stay silent in defiance.

He walked a little but stayed away from her. “I know your boss got the pleasure to see and touch it. And I’m pretty sure you know a lot about it. So, Jemma Simmons.” He took a chair and sat in front of her, crossing his legs. “Let me know what I want.”

Jemma contemplated for a moment. She could lie, but that could be catastrophic in its own right. She could stay silent but that could lead to breaking. She promised herself not to break, but something about this man made that seem so hard. So, she decided on a third option. Turn it around.

“Everything is an awfully vague term. Very broad. You might want to clarify. I’m a scientist. I like things to be specific.” She replied.

He gave her a cold look, leaned to her a little.

“Where is the Tesseract now? What’s its power?” He asked, focused on what he wanted.

“I don’t think anybody knows the answers to either of those questions. Where do you think it is? What is your estimate on how powerful it is?” She prayed this tactic would work.

He stuck his look on her, not happy that she dared mock him.

“I advise you to answer me. Quick.” He said with a threatening slow voice.

“Why aren’t you answering me? I’m just as entitled to ask questions as you are.” Jemma internally laughed at herself. It was quite amusing to see his pupils dilate in contempt. She felt like a winner. Even if it was short lived. She was sure that eventually they would throw her out like yesterday’s paper.

Her amused behavior brought a high level of anger. He leaned quickly to her and slapped her in the face with all the hard strength he could get on a woman.

“Now, you will maybe answer me.” He said, taking his handkerchief in his pocket to clean his hand, as if he just got bacteria on it. 

Jemma closed her eyes as the sting of where his hand collided with her cheek subsided slowly. “And why would I do that?” She leaned in close to him.

“Because my goodness is limited.” He said, with a contempt look. “Is SHIELD keeping it for some important new missions? Is it for the Avengers?”

“Seems like you’ve taken the wrong agent. Because I don’t know.” She lied. May had trained her how to convincingly lie in an interrogation and keep her emotions in check. She needed to get out of here. And she needed to not let anything slip.

He stared at her for a long time before quickly getting up and standing behind her. He leaned over her, his face closed to her cheek.

“You know, I hate to wait. Patience is not really my friend. So, I’m asking you in that way, last time.” And after saying that, he pulled her hair back strongly. “Reveal me all the secrets of the Tesseract.”

Jemma held back a whimper as her neck painfully and forcefully was bent backwards. “In 2012, an Asgardian known as Loki invaded Earth…” She started but then regretted it as he pulled her again.

“I know the story!” He said with a growl. “That’s not what I want to know. ANSWER ME!” He screamed.

Jemma winced as his voice boomed and echoed in her ears. So final resort, begging. “Please,” she whispered as brokenly as she could, her acting wasn’t the best, “Please don’t hurt me. I don’t know anything. I swear.”

He felt his anger growing up more but sighed. He released her mop, pushing her away from him with an annoyed sigh. This bitch was going to waste him precious time and he had to know quickly.

While he walked to the mirror once again, an idea popped up in his mind. He froze for a moment, thinking.

The machine.

It was not ready yet but if he could finish it tonight, he could use it in the morning on her. Maybe it would be the best way to get his answers from her. The idea brought him back in a good mood and he turned once again to her.

“So, we will continue this conversation later. Think about what I want to know. The next hours are gonna be hard and painful.” He said with a smirk. 

She’s endured pain. She’s been through hard times. What was one more added to the list? She sighed. “Be that as it may. You won’t get anything out of it.” 

He smirked more, silent. A look to the soldiers and the two men walked to her to untie her and brought her out from the room to put her in another one, empty.

The Doctor turned once again to the mirror, flattened his hair, and unbuttoned his jacket. He could not wait to use his machine. He was certain she'd talk with it. It was just a question of time. 


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Jemma groaned in her pain. Last night was painful and hard. But she still remained silent. Her eye was swollen shut, her body ached. Everything was sore or bloody. Some both. Either way, she was in immense pain. Her mouth never spilled any information though. And that gave her some relief.

Two soldiers entered the room quickly and ran to her to get her up briskly. They brought her to the laboratories and specifically in the Director’s lab. Once again, the soldiers pushed her into the room and stopped in front of the Doctor.

“Good morning, Jemma Simmons”. He said, in a good mood. “I hope you slept well. A sleepy brain is more difficult to manage.”

While he was finishing to prepare the machine, he turned his head to her and smiled.

“What do you think about it?” He asked, showing the machine.

Jemma growled, “go to hell.” She managed to snarl before wincing in pain.

The Doctor’s smile grew up more, turning into an evil one.

“Oh, trust me, you’re gonna be there before me.” He said, checking if everything was correct.

Then, he walked to his desk and took off his jacket, revealing a white shirt that he removed the sleeves, showing his muscular arms.

“What do you want from me? I already told you that I didn’t know anything.” She kept her face to the floor. Only looking up when she heard his feet come closer to her body. His toned, pale, arms showing, revealing a build she didn’t know he had.

“You know perfectly what I want from you,” He said, taking her chin between his fingers to force her to look at him in the eyes. “And you’re gonna tell me inside of the machine.”

“And what makes you think I’ll do that?” She drawled, trying to ignore how close his lips were to hers. How his fingers perfectly fit her chin as his thumb rubbed over it. She tried not to shiver as his thumb went over her lip. She needed to stay strong. 

He noticed the small trembling on her lip when his thumb touched it and her dilated pupil trying to ignore his mouth. Was it possible she got an attraction for him? He looked at her for a second, wondering how she could even think about him in that way. He did hurt her and threatened her and she was thinking about him and his lips. What kind of woman was she?

He could not help to frown a little, intrigued. Of course, he knew he was a handsome man and he knew a lot of women were looking at him secretly when he was around but still, he did not have a lot of lovers in his life, two or three with whom he slept with when he was bored but her… She was completely the opposite of all the girls he had an affair with. Was it possible he could get and attract good girls too?

A new idea came up in his mind. She was clearly a good and beautiful woman, he could not ignore it. How about using this attraction to get what he wanted? He could do whatever he wanted with the machine so why not…

He released her chin quickly and walked to the panel of the machine. His mind was burning of ideas. He taped and turned a lot of buttons on the panel, letting his fingers run on the keyboard. He was so focused on his idea that he completely forgot about her for a while.

Jemma trembled as his face came close to hers. Then nearly gasped as he let go. The absence of his surprising warmth made her ache and long for him. How did she develop Stockholm Syndrome? If you could even call it that. She couldn’t reach for him, she was too weak. She could only lay there, shivering. It was so cold. And she felt as if he was the only one who could warm her up. She slowly pulled herself up to sit against the wall, which provided little comfort. She just wanted to go home.

The Doctor finished preparing the machine, hoping what he was thinking would work perfectly. He was sure what he prepared her would bring something useful out. She just gave him the reason to do it.

“Perfect!” He murmured for himself before raising his head to her. Then, he noticed her sitting on the ground and the vision of her, curled up and shivering, made him smile.

“Gentlemen, can you lie this woman on the table, please?” He said, showing the machine.

Jemma’s breaths came out in ragged pants as she struggled against their grasp. “No!” She yelled over and over again. But it was no use. They strapped her to the cold hard metal and waited for further instructions while watching her struggle with amusement. 

The Doctor approached the table and checked for the straps.

“Comfortable?” He asked her. “No worries, it’s gonna be hurtful only at the beginning.”

“Psychopath.” She responded in a small voice.

He gave her a sad cute puppy face before walking to her and leaning to her, his face, and lips so close to hers.

“Don’t fool me, I know you really like when I’m close to you, Jemma.” He said with a slow seductive voice.

“You may be well formed and symmetrical, but no. You’re not my type.” She ate her words as his skilled fingers lightly ran over her sweater, then her neck, to her cheek, to place a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

He didn’t know why he did that but he admitted to himself he liked it. Her skin was so soft on his finger and he surprised himself to want to do it once again. But he could not, she was the enemy, she was the victim and he was the bad guy. But still, his finger ran once again, like an automat from her cheek to her neck following her jugular vein he really liked.

His eyes fell on hers, and he drowned for a moment into them. It was like she had glitters in the brown of her iris, hypnotizing eyes like he barely saw in his life. From the angle he was, she was definitely beautiful. Her pale skin full of freckles was tempting to touch or kiss and he could feel his tongue hurting the barrier of his teeth. If only he could…

“Let’s start.” He finally said, stepping back from her, back to reality, taking a long breath.

He took a chair, sat, and put a helmet on his head.

“Gentlemen, leave. It’s a private session.” He said, turning on the machine.

The soldiers left the room and the Doctor turned his head to his victim.

“Ready to start, my dear?” He asked, his hand on the power button.

“Don’t call me that.” Was all she said. What was he going to do?

The Doctor pushed on the button and the machine started to work. The connection between the machine and their brains started and Fitz felt a little shock inside his head while it got worse for Jemma.

Jemma screamed in agony as jolts of electricity went through her head. This was too much. She wanted out. She wanted out. She felt as if she couldn’t breathe and that everything was closing around her. She didn’t hear the Doctor scream though.

That was her last thought before the world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Fitz was feeling something warm and soft against him. He was still sleeping but he knew he was also awake. With a difficult motivation, he opened his eyes and blinked. His eyes noticed a strange white ceiling - the one of his own room was dark as his soul, why was this one white? He blinked once again and remembered where he was. The Cerebral Machine. The Framework.

He sat quickly on the bed, checking where he was. A white room, comfortable, with belongings and memories. Painting, some little monkeys, and butterflies. His eyes fell on him, he was shirtless, wearing only boxers under the white and red sheets. He looked at his hand. It was so real… Everything around him was so _real_.

He let a smile appear on his lips when he heard a growl next to him. Turning his head, he noticed a woman. He was surprised to find him in the bed with someone. Did he really think about him having an affair in this virtual world? Then, he realized it was not someone. It was _her_. Jemma Simmons. Her thoughts or maybe her fantasies put him right in this way in the Framework.

He couldn’t not enjoy it inside of him.

Jemma groaned as sunlight came into the room. Waking her from a rather peaceful sleep. She turned around to find her boyfriend staring at her.

“Hi.” She murmured sleepily as she snuggled in close. “How’d you sleep?” Gosh, she was so in love with him.

Fitz looked at her for a while. She didn’t seem to remember where they were, who he was.

“You don’t remember?” He asked.

“Remember what?” She kissed his chest.

A large smile appeared on Fitz’s lips, full of joy dancing in his heart. He made it. The machine was working perfectly and he just created a great and amazing virtual world based on both brains and memories.

He felt back on the pillow, happy and proud.

“How smart I am,” he answered, putting his hands behind his head, looking at the ceiling.

“How could I forget that?” She smiled and pushed herself up to look at him fully.

He turned his head to her and looked at her. The light of the sun illuminated her pale face, revealing her freckles more than he already saw. She was really beautiful in the light, her pale skin tempting him right in his heart and stomach. He didn’t understand his reaction but whatever. Here, he could do everything and get everything he wanted. And he was ready to try this virtual world more than he thought minutes ago. Maybe there, he could try to be nice and not just the evil Doctor from HYDRA. Actually, if he wanted to get his answers from her, he must be nice with her and act as her boyfriend.

“You’re really beautiful in the morning,” he said, as a truth. 

“Oh shush. No, I’m not. You’re too good to me.” Her hands drew patterns on his chest.

He felt a long goosebump running in his back when she let her hand run down to his belly button, drawing circles.

“Remind me again when and where we met?” He asked, trying to remember himself. A thing he noticed. The fact he was here didn’t mean he could know everything they _built_ together here. He wondered if this world was not just hers and him stuck here.

“Are you 23 days or 23 years older than me? 16, academy, chem class, remember old man?” She lightly knocked on his head.

He didn’t understand anything she said but pretended he did.

“Of course, I remember.” He said, leaning in towards her to steal a kiss.

Another goosebump. Why did he do that? He didn’t even think about it, he just did it. Like a mechanical thing he was repeated all the time. He frowned. How was this framework really working?

“You okay?” She asked after he pulled back. “What’s the matter?” Her fingers ran through his hair to comfort him. He seemed so out of place.

Another strange feeling came to him. He knew he loved her doing this with his hair but he didn’t really remember it. He frowned more, closed his eyes, putting his head in his palms. It was so confusing.

“Hey, hey talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.” She continued to stroke his hair and held his hand to coax him to relax.

He felt he wanted to push her away but once again, something else appeared. “I’m fine!” He said, with the beginning of a cold voice which ended with a soft one. “I’m fine.” He took a deep breath. Yeah, these two worlds at the same time were really difficult to manage. He must find a way to calm down and separate the real world with this fake one.

“Is this because of your father? I know his proposition is sudden, but you know you can talk to me and say what’s bothering you.” Jemma asked.

He turned his head to her, frowning. How could she know that?

“You know? I told you about it?” He asked, really confused.

“Yeah... Ok, Leopold, what is going on with you?” Why was he acting like this?

He froze at the “Leopold” word.

“Don’t call me that!” He said, this time coldly.

“What? Darling, what is wrong?” She shook her head in disbelief. She removed her hands from his body to give him some space.

Then, he remembered old and new memories he did but didn’t know them. She was often calling him by his name or Leo and rarely Fitz as he liked to be called. He took his head in his palms once again and shook his head. He really needed to know how to separate the two worlds.

“I need to stop that…” He murmured for himself before shaking his head once again. “I’m sorry, Babe. I didn’t sleep well and… my father’s proposition is worse than I thought. Forgive me?”

He could not believe he was apologizing and asking for forgiveness to a woman he didn’t even know… Well, only there. But here, it was something he did often when he did wrong.

“Maybe you should call in sick. You won’t be of any use if you are not feeling well. Sorry for keeping you up.” She fully sat up to pull the blanket over both of them. “And yes, I do forgive you.” She smiled and kissed his cheek. 

Her kiss was so soft and warm that he felt a good pinch in his heart. A wave of good feeling, something he didn’t really know enveloped him and he could not help to smile back at her. Before letting his eyes fall on her body. She was so attractive and beautiful. Really perfect. How she could have imagined him looking at her in this way and letting him take advantage of her like this. Because this part was from her, he was certain. He could never imagine something good and lovely happening to him like this. He didn’t know how to love.

“You’re so beautiful...” He said, once again, as a robot. “I can’t take my eyes off from you, it’s crazy.” He said this more for himself than he spoke to her.

She blushed under his gaze. “Stop it.” She said full of love as she picked up his discarded button up and put it on.

He looked at her getting dressed and felt a little sad and jealous. Of himself or the Fitz inside this world? He could watch her all the time he wanted, loving her all the time he could and she was just hiding from him right now. Yeah, he felt a huge jealous feeling growing up inside him and turned cold. But it was not against her, it was against the other Fitz. The one who knew everything about her while he didn’t know anything or just what she barely showed him these last ten minutes.

“I have to go to work soon. Do you need anything?” Her voice broke him out of his stupor.

“You!” He answered with an impatient cold voice; and then, he noticed it was not his way of speaking to her. But he still felt so jealous of himself. “Nothing.” He said, looking in front of him.

“That could be arranged.” She leaned over him and kissed him slowly, letting him decide where to take it.

He looked at her for a long time after her kiss. Again, he felt he loved it when she did that: taking care of him, giving him all the attention, he wanted and needed, and on the other hand, he always had that other feeling of kindness, tenderness and love were to be banished from his life, from what he was and how he had always been forged.

"I'm gonna have a coffee," he said, confused. He needed to get away from this strange environment he had immersed himself in. The only thing he needed were the answers to his questions and nothing else.

He got up, walked into this unknown apartment he knew but did not recognize. It was both his apartment with his personal belongings mixed with those of this woman he did not know but that loved and moved in this place with her.

One side of the wall held most of their lives together. At 16. At 20. Last year ... It was so strange and so fascinating at the same time. Two brains combined to form a world of their own. Together.

Jemma decided to follow him, shivering at the way the cold air met her bare and pale legs. She padded over to where he was and decided to make the coffee for him.

“What do you have planned today?” she asked, trying to make conversation. She needed him to feel better because he looked very uncomfortable and confused. Why is he like that and how to make him feel better were her two questions for today. 

He turned to her, surprised and looked at her. It was really strange for him to act like a boyfriend with a girl he barely or didn’t know at all, even though inside of his mind, he did know her perfectly. He first gave her a cold look which turned into a wild one when his eyes fell on her bare and pale legs. She was really beautiful and once again, he could not ignore it.

“I don’t know, I guess I’ve something to do but…” He said, frowning, trying to remember. What did he do here? He was certain he was not the Director of HYDRA as it was more than 60% of her world. So where? What was he here?

“Don’t you have that big presentation soon? Maybe you have to prep.” She replied, handing him his coffee while she had tea.

“The presentation?” He asked, confused once again before remembering clearly. “Yeah, I should prepare myself in case I stutter again.” It was strange for him to say that as he had always been confident with himself in public.

“If you need help, let me know. I do excel at preparation.” She grinned at their old joke, hoping to coax him out of this sour mood.

He didn’t laugh, as he didn’t remember that joke. Instead, he took his coffee and drank it. Perfectly made as he loved it. Good point for her.

“I need to go shower soon. And go to work. Just tell me if you’re feeling bad and I’ll take you home. Ok?” She finished her tea in record time.

“I’m good, calm down.” He said, turning to the window. “I don’t like being here.” He said more for himself than for making conversation. “I don’t like this apartment.”

“What? We chose this together. Where is this coming from? What is going on with you today?” She kept her distance no matter how much she yearned to be in his arms.

She was annoying him and he really stopped a sigh coming from inside of him. He should calm down and act like the Leopold from her world. It would be the only way for him to get his information.

“I’m sorry, Babe.” He said, turning to her with his fake but sorry face. “I’m just tired and stressed. But I’m serious about this apartment. We should get another one. Bigger.”

“For the future? Because I think for two people this one is perfectly fine. Unless you want to start moving forward more. Marriage, travel, babies. I thought we already had this conversation though. About waiting. I told you that I did want that life with you, eventually. But that I’m not at a point in my life that I think I could be a good mother.” She rambled on. They had a lengthy conversation about this after they moved in together. That was only a couple of months ago.

A grimace appeared on his mouth. He really thought about having babies and getting married? He could not believe it. In the real world, it was something totally forbidden and no way to happen. But here…

“Fine.” He answered simply, agreed there she refused but he didn’t show her this way and she thought he was once again sad about her answer.

“Ok. Now you have to tell me what is actually wrong. You’ve been cold to me all morning. Confused, distant, and suddenly don’t like our life. So, what is wrong?” She came over to him but didn’t touch him, wanting to not make him feel more out of place.

He sighed, annoyed. He needed to find a way to bring back her Leopold, if he continued in that way, she would understand something.

“I’m sorry,” He said once again. “I’m horrible with you when I’m stressed. Come here.” He said and he walked to her to take her in his arms, hugging her against him. He felt this strange but really liked it too.

She breathed in his scent, laying her head on his arm while gazing out the window. “How about tonight, we watch the sunset? Like we used to?”

He hid a grimace, finding this so boring and stupid. How could he be so happy there? If he was really him here, for sure, he would already have changed a lot of things. But still, here he was her Leopold and he must act like him.

“I can’t wait for us to be together and alone, then.” He said, kissing her temple. “But first, work.” 

“I’ll make my famous sandwiches then. And of course, work comes first.” She turned her head to kiss his neck.

He felt another goosebump running down his back and he sighed of pleasure, something he never did and could not help to do. He really thought she had a real impact on his body each time she was doing something lovely to him.

“Jemma?” He called, pushing her away from him. “We need to go to work. Now.” He said, looking at her and after a long moment, he smiled. Well, he thought he tried.

“Ok then.” She washed their mugs and went to the bathroom to get ready. She took a quick shower and did her morning routine before getting dressed.

He went to the room to get dressed and when he went to the bathroom to finish to prepare himself, he stopped in shock in front of the mirror.

“What the hell!” He squeaked.

In the mirror, his hair was a real mess, something normal after sleeping, but it was shorter and curly. His beard was horrible and he looked younger and literally not him at all. What the hell was this?!

“What happened, are you okay?” Jemma came in with her face full of alarm at his cry. Her shirt half buttoned and untucked.

He turned to her, in shock. “What’s this?” He asked, showing his hair. “I look like an ugly teenager!”

“No, you do not.” Her face morphing into a smile. “You look like a very handsome man.”

“What did you do to me?!” He asked, turning his face to look at his reflection in the mirror, disgusted. “I haven't had curly hair since I was 10!” 

“This is how you’ve always looked! What the hell is going on with you? If you want to change it so bad go to a salon or something.” She sighed, buttoning up her shirt and tucking it in.

He looked at himself, could not believe he was like this. He sighed deeply and tried to calm down. If he didn’t stop, things are gonna be worse and his experience would turn off quickly. He took a deep breath and let her go, upset, or mad, he didn’t know exactly, he just felt it was going to be difficult to get back her good mood. Whatever, he’ll see her later at work. If he did remember where he was working…

“I’ll be in the car.” She said tiredly.

He got dressed quickly with clothes he didn’t wear since school and tried to get a good haircut. He really didn’t like him in that way. Then, he joined her in her poor car and when he looked at her, he noticed how mad she was.

“You’re mad at me?” He asked, as a provocation.

“Why would I be?” She replied, not looking at him.

“Each time I don’t drive, you put your hand on my thigh, and you don’t do it now. So, you’re mad.” He said this as if he knew that forever and this, amused him.

She rolled her eyes and put her hand on his thigh. She then started to back out of the lot.

“You’re still mad,” He said, provoking her more. “Will you ignore me the rest of the day?” He really liked seeing her mad.

She didn’t say anything, just started to drive to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter is waiting for you on the next page :)


	4. Chapter 4

Fitz was looking at the building with big eyes. He could not believe it, but it was real here. He was really working for SHIELD. The base was so different from what he always thought, a bit darker, old, and full of unprofessional agents. He followed Jemma, where she knew where to go and tried to not be suspicious while he was looking at everything at the same time, trying to catch everything he could about SHIELD. 

“So, I’ll see you at 3.” She kissed him quickly and headed in, not being able to bear one more second with him.

Fitz looked at her walking to the opposite and he turned his heels to walk slowly. He needed to catch any information from here. It was a real opportunity to be in SHIELD base and he was not going to miss it.

While he turned at a corner, he saw a woman coming to him. No smile, determined, Asian. At first sight, she could be one of his soldiers.

“Did you find a way to fix my gun?” She asked without preamble.

“Excuse me?” He answered with a contempt look. How dared she try to talk to him in that way?

“My gun. I gave it to you, yesterday and I need it for the next mission Coulson ordered me to go. Can I get it back?” The woman asked.

He was ready to shut her mouth when another young woman came, quickly. Still Asian. Her daughter maybe?

“We need to talk!” She said, pulling him away from the other woman. “Sorry, May, but it’s important.”

“Daisy!” May retorted but the young Asian woman pulled him away already and pushed him against a wall.

“What’s wrong with you?” She asked, with a biting tone.

“What’s wrong with you?” He repeated, looking at her finger pointed on him.

“You should keep your stress! Jemma is gonna suspect something and the surprise is gonna be over!” She said, with a sigh.

“The surprise?” He asked, frowning. Nothing in his head came and he just understood that he only remembered things when he was with her.

“What surprise? Come on, Fitz!” Daisy said, punching his shoulder. “The ring!”

He looked at her with big eyes. What the hell was she talking about? What was happening again?

“The ring, Fitz. Did you get the ring? You should buy it this morning and I received a text from the cashier than you didn’t!”

“I didn’t have time?” He said, shaking his shoulders. “I’ll pick up later, it’s not a big deal.”

“The fuck, Leopold Fitz! You literally ruined my mission to ask me to order the ring you saw and now “it’s not a big deal”?! I’m gonna strangle you!”

She annoyed him so much that he wanted to strangle her literally.

“I’m gonna pick it after work, calm down… Daisy.” He said with a cold voice.

“You better do! Cause I’m gonna not leave your Scottish ass till she has this ring on her finger!” She pointed her finger to him before leaving the corridor.

He looked at her, scorned and returned looking at the base. He needed to find something here.

Jemma heard some commotion so she went to see what it was about. There, she saw Daisy and Fitz fighting. “What’s going on?” She asked.

“Nothing, why?” He asked, turning to her. “Shouldn’t you be working?”

“I was about to. Then I heard yelling so I came to see what it was about. Shouldn’t you two be working?”

“I am.” He said, putting his hands in his pockets. “Your friend just needed some advice.”

“Ok. Party’s over though. Bye.” She kissed his cheek before heading to the lab.

He turned his heels to walk to another part of the base. There were not many people over here so he decided to enter in a room. But when he tried by using his badge on the panel to enter, a sound and screen appeared saying with a robot voice:

“Agent Leopold Fitz. Level 5 refused. Please, try again.”

“Fucking thing!” He said with a growl. He tried with another room and got the same message from the robot voice.

So, he was completely restricted here. A Level 5 while he was the Alpha on HYDRA. He turned his heels to go to another corridor and tried once again, and once again, he was refused to enter.

“Agent Fitz?” someone called behind him.

He turned to a young woman with short hair and dressed like a soldier.

“Can I help you?” She asked, looking at him, frowning.

“Uh, I was looking for something and I can’t enter.” He said, showing his badge.

“Of course, you can’t, Agent Fitz. It’s a Level 6 and 7 restriction area over here.”

He looked at her. If she is trying to get suspect, he should have to kill her.

“I know that,” He said, with a smile. “I got the Boss’ one but I put it somewhere and now, I can’t find it. I’m in trouble, you think?”

She looked at him, frowning more, and getting suspicious.

“I didn’t know Coulson gave his badge. Maybe you should say this to him?”

“Maybe, yes.” He answered. “I will. Thanks for your help, Agent…” He looked at her name on her jacket. “Piper.”

Then, he left the corridor, looking at her for the last time. She was following him with her look, really suspicious. He decided to ignore her and walked to a new part of the base.

* * *

Jemma sighed as she got into the lab, pushing away all of the issues from this morning. She then got to work on her new project. The Tesseract. More specifically, extracting power from it to make a new weapon. Nobody knew about this. Not even Fitz. She first needed to estimate exactly how much power it held and how much that could be removed safely. It was for the long haul.

After walking in a lot of corridors, Fitz found the lab. He first found it ugly and poor, full of old equipment and useless. How could they work here? Not a surprise if SHIELD could not get any good invention or work on good projects. He passed through the halls, looked at the “scientists” working and their uninteresting work until he saw Jemma in the background, in a small open room. She was so focused that he found it interesting to know what it was about.

He walked to her, quiet and entered the small room. Jemma didn’t notice him. He approached her and looked over her shoulder.

His heart missed a beat.

“The Tesseract!” He said, forgetting he should stay quiet, completely hypnotized by the blue cube on the screen of her computer.

Jemma gasped in shock. “What the hell are you doing in here?! Get out! You’re not allowed!” She quickly covered her work and tried to push him out. How could he?

“Wait, you’re hiding this to me?” He asked, looking at the screen while she pushed him out of the room. “Tell me more about the Tesseract.”

“It’s none of your business!” She continued to push him.

“I want to know!” He said, trying to enter the room again.

“Too bad!” She yelled, not letting him.

He turned a cold face to her, similar to his own one in the real world, for a second before getting back his nice puppy face.

“Please, let me know. We don’t hide anything from each other. It’s a fascinating subject.”

“It’s classified. Now please leave so I can work. I’ll see you tonight.”

He looked at her with cold eyes, full of rage inside. So, that was how she looked with him at work. Acting like a boss and his superior, pushing him away each time she could. Poor Fitz. There, he was a real useful puppy. And she knew how to put him back at his place. Under her.

He didn’t answer, silent and cold, and turned his heels to walk away in the lab. He needed to find a way to force her to speak and reveal to him what he only wanted there. The Tesseract.

He walked around, trying to find his place. Did he have one? He looked at the desks and finally found his own. He noticed the little monkey he had when he was a student and he hid each time he could to not let anyone see and avoid mockeries. Apparently, it was not a problem here. A little smile appeared on his lips as he touched the monkey. He didn’t see it for a long time since the day he threw it into a trashcan. It was so strange to get it back.

He sat on his desk, looked at the documents and screens. He was working on such poor and boring work. How could he turn from a smart genius scientist who built revolutionaries machines to a Level 5 scientist working on a prosthesis hand and spy pen? He sighed, disgusted of what he was here.

“Don’t you have work to do?” Jemma asked, upset.

“I have,” He replied with a cold voice. “This fucking spy pen is waiting for me!”

“Then go work on that.” She retorted.

His blood froze. How dared her to give him orders and talk to him like this? He wanted to strangle her right now, but once again, he just took a deep breath, kept silent and started working on the pen.

“Don’t precipitate the things, Fitz. Step by step.” He said for himself.

Jemma marched back to her desk, fuming. She got to work in a blind rage. How dare he? He knew the rules and suddenly it was all her fault.

* * *

Some hours passed. Everyone was working, focused on their work while Fitz was bored with this easy to build spy pen. He had tried to get some information about the Tesseract via his computer but each time he tried, he got the same message: “LEVEL 5 ACCESS REFUSED.” And this pushed his anger to the high level. He could not get anything with his low status and not even work on something interesting. This life was so horrible.

He needed answers so he only thought about a plan to get them quickly. First of all, being unsuspicious. He needed to show he didn’t really care about the Tesseract. Second, he must get her close to him and find her true weaknesses. Both at work and in her private life. And third, find a way to get a high-level access and he thought about something interesting that could work. His plan sounded great and ready to work. Step by step, he could finally get the answers and when he got them, get the hell out of this nightmare. But first, he really should act like their Fitz and it started with a text for Daisy.

“Where’s the shop for the ring?” He texted, waiting for her answer.

“Seriously? Fuck, Fitz, I’m on a mission!” Daisy texted back.

“I erased the name in case Jemma looking inside. So?”

“UGH!!! LYNDON STREET. MARY’S WEDDING. DON’T TEXT ME BACK NOW!”

He forgot Daisy. He put his phone in his pocket, grabbed an ugly blue jacket, and walked to the exit.

Jemma looked up at his sudden movement. “Hey, where are you going?”

“I need some material for the prosthesis hand.” He answered.

“Ok. Text me when you’re back. Here’s the keys to the car.” She threw them to him and went back to work.

“Thanks, Love.” He said to act like her Fitz and walked to the exit, leaving the base.

She smiled at the old nickname. Maybe today won’t be so bad.


	5. Chapter 5

Fitz returned two hours later with the ring in his pocket. He did laugh at it when he saw it. The ring was so cheap and ugly, a simple little diamond square on a gold circle. Poor Jemma, if they were in the real world and together, he would offer her a luxurious and rich one with all the gems on it. He was certain she would be disappointed when he would propose to her.

He returned to the base and walked to the lab. Everyone was still working and he ignored a guy who saluted him. He went to sit, turning on his computer. 

“Hey.” Jemma smiled at him. “How’d it goes?”

“Good. Got what I needed.” He answered, simply, and turned to her. Behind her, he noticed the two young scientists leaving the lab quickly notes in their hands, talking to each other about an experiment to do right now. So, they were now all alone in the lab.

“How about you? And…” He gave a look to her room.

“Fine. Going swimmingly.” She replied. And that was true. She felt as if she was close to cracking it. Really close.

“Good. It must be really cool to work on a subject like this. Did you find interesting things about it?” He asked.

“I’m not allowed to say. You know that.”

He refrained himself to not throw her another cold and angry look.

“Yeah, just I’m curious and I love when you’re working so focused on something. You’re sexy.” He said, as a true revelation. He did really like seeing her working in a lab. 

“Thank you very much. You’re attractive as well.” She beckoned him to come closer as she covered her work up.

He walked to her slowly, acting as the lover he should be, but honestly, it was not really difficult for him to be this part of Fitz. He grabbed her waist and pulled her against him, with a real desire to kiss her.

“We’re still on for tonight?” She whispered against his lips as she teased him.

He bit his lip, squeezed her hips. He did not want to wait tonight to get it.

“Tonight, is so far away,” He replied with a seductive voice. “How about now?” He asked, looking at her deeply in her eyes.

“We can’t do what I was planning for tonight here at work.” She moved her hands up and down his neck.

“Why not?” He teased her with a kiss on her neck. “We can do everything, you’re the boss here, right?” He murmured at her ear sensually while his hands passed under her shirt.

She looked around, when the coast was clear, she pressed a button that closed all of the doors and windows.

“Quickly.”

He smirked. This time, he didn’t play at all, he was really himself, enjoying this intimate moment with the woman he was supposed to hate and torture but also wanted to get her feelings for him.

He lifted her to sit her on her desk, already pushing back her jacket and unbuttoned her shirt.

“You’re really amazing, you know that?” He said, as something he always said to her in that kind of moment.

“Could you remind me?” She started to work on his tie while her legs wrapped around his waist tightly, locking him in place.

“No worries about that. It’s a pre-show of what I’m gonna offer you tonight, Babe.” He said, kissing her lips wildly, touching and caressing each part of her body he could with his hands. He could not believe how soft, warm, and real she was. The Framework was so real! He was completely living this for real.

She leaned back to give him more room while she pushed his jacket down and threw his tie away.

He laid her down on the desk, could not stop kissing her with passion. Her lips were so soft and tasty, how he didn’t already know them before?! He kept kissing her again and again when his eyes opened quickly to notice a paper with the Tesseract on it. He could not stop looking at it while he continued to kiss her, trying to not stop this great moment. But the paper…

She noticed him being distracted and decided to push her shirt all the way down to bring his attention back to her.

And it worked. For a while. He almost growled at the perfect vision of her body, and put his lips on her skin, kissing each inch he could. He could not resist her, he understood that, but his other part of him pushed him to get the paper. So, while he was distracting her with his hand and kisses, he reached his other hand to grab the paper discreetly.

Luckily for him, she didn’t notice as she unbuttoned his vest and shirt, nibbling on his ear.

He growled deeply when she did that and squeezed both her hip and the paper with his hands. Gosh, how did she know it was one of his weaknesses during intimate moments?

She mewled as his warm hands skimmed over her hips and squeezed them. She then went to his chest, leaving hot and wet kisses on his skin. Her hands raked over his arms and chest, leaving little red marks where her nails lightly dug into him.

He growled more, grimacing with pleasure and went back on her lips. He completely forgot the paper to only focus on her and her wonderful body. She won and he knew it, but as for Fitz from this world, he definitely could not resist her. She has a strong impact on him and he was too weak to try to stop her.

Jemma’s hands then went to his back to rub it, creating some friction that she so desperately needed.

He grabbed her waist and forced her to sit on his lap as he sat on the chair behind him. His mouth went to hers to her neck to her chest and each part he could reach. She was so perfect and it was impossible to stop him to give her the moment she needed from him. He wanted to send her right into the sky and give her paradise.

Jemma smiled at their new position and grabbed his head to fuse their lips together again. She started to deepen the kiss by tilting her head and push him back against the chair.

He growled more like a lion in his cage. How could she do that with perfection? He grabbed her back, squeezing her skin strongly with his fingers, his eyes closed and his feeling and desire growing up more inside of him. He was burning inside.

Now it was her turn to growl against his lips. She bit his top lip and then kissed it softly to soothe it.

He smothered a word against her lips she didn’t understand and when he pushed her back a little to look at her, they suddenly were stopped in their game by her phone ringing on her desk.

Fitz growled, grumpy and kissed her back quickly. “Forget it!” He said between two kisses.

“Ugh, one second.” She pushed him back but continued to rub his chest with her cold hand as she answered the text.

He felt grumpy and sighed, annoyed. It was so good and she dared stop their amazing moment for a text! He lied on the chair, waiting, while his look fell back on the paper. The paper! How could he just ignore it for her? He needed to get it but how?

“Maybe we should continue this tonight?” He said, pushing her back to him to stand up. He turned his back to the desk, grabbed his tie she threw out earlier and discreetly put one of his hands behind him to get the paper. “It sounds important. The text.”

“It’s… not.” She paused as she saw his hands move behind him. “What are you doing?”

“Checking you didn’t stab me with your nails, wild girlfriend,” He laughed, putting the paper behind his back, and getting dressed. “You know I lose myself when you do that? It’s really… wow.” He said to change the conversation. But he really thought about what he said. She literally made him lose himself.

“Stop lying. What are you hiding?” She then saw a flash of white behind him and her eyes widened in realization. “Wow. Great job, Fitz. Trying to steal my work. Out of what, curiosity? Put them back. Now.” How could he?

“It’s not what you think.” He said, trying to find a way to not put back the paper. “It’s not your work, trust me.”

“Kind of hard to believe because I can see my handwriting plus you breaking the rules to see what I was doing. Forgive me if I’m skeptical.”

“Yeah, it’s yours but not your work. Trust me, Babe.” He said, with a strange look. He could not do that to Fitz but whatever, he was evil, so why should he care about it? “It’s something you can’t know. Yet.”

“If it has my handwriting, then it’s my project. I’m not allowed to take electronic notes.” She smirked before her eyes darkened. “Give it to me, now.”

He looked at her for a while before nodding, with a sad and upset face. He put his hand on his back, grabbed the second paper he got earlier for the ring and gave it to her.

“Fine. You want the truth? You want to spoil the surprise? Go ahead. It’s for you after all. Enjoy!” He threw her the paper in her face with some words of her handwriting he took earlier for the ring and the message to engrave on it and kept the real paper about the Tesseract behind his back. What a smart boy he was. He could do this every time. Now, she would be the one in the bad position and he is secretly already enjoying it. “Happy to know now?”

“What? Fitz, I... What?” What was happening? He was about to propose?

“A surprise. Ruined because of your untrust about me. Congratulations, Simmons. You were going to be proposed but now, it doesn’t really matter anymore.” He said with all his sad and disappointed voice, while he was secretly really enjoying the moment. He was so smart!

He buttoned his shirt, grabbed his jacket, and walked to the outside, after taping on the button to open the doors and windows.

“Wait, Fitz… I just thought.” But it was no use, he ignored her as she crumbled, sobbing. She just lost the love of her life. She would’ve said yes.

Fitz smirked of the dramatic moment she was actually living now. It was well done. He was proud and after he left the lab, he walked to a quiet and desert place to look at the paper. But unfortunately, he realized he did all of that for nothing really interesting. He knew some of the information writing on the paper except a possible list of locations the Tesseract could be. But nothing really concrete.

A full feeling of rage grew up inside him and, angry, he punched the wall in front of him, grimacing of the pain he got and the scratches on his hand.

Jemma was getting dressed when she heard a thump outside. She quickly went to see Fitz punching the wall. “Fitz! No!” She went over and pulled him away. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t touch me, you, bitch!” He said with his Doctor cold voice and look, pushing her away from him. “You’re the last person I want to see right now, so move. NOW!”

Jemma stumbled back at the sheer force of his words. But she soon regained herself. “No.” She said simply. “I’m patching up your hand. End of discussion.”

“If you dare touch me, I swear you’re gonna regret it!” He threatened her before turning his heels to leave the corridor. He needed some fresh air and found a new way to get that information he could not get right now.

“Come back here!” She ran after him. Once she caught up to him, she started to pant. “I don’t care. Let me patch you up. That’s an order.”

He saw red. Unable to control his furor, he quickly turned to her to grab her throat and pushed her briskly against the wall, his furious face closed to her.

“Just let me clean you up. Then you can do whatever you want.” She couldn’t deny that she was scared of this new and shocking side of him. She was extremely scared. But she needed to be strong and be there for him. He was going through something and needed someone in his corner. So, she needed to stand her ground.

“I’m gonna clean the blood from your body if you don’t stop to bother me right now,” He threatened her, squeezing her throat more. “Understood?”

“I don’t care. Just let me help you.” She placed a gentle hand over his. “Please,” her voice broke at the end as she softly whispered, “please let me help you.”

Something broke suddenly inside him. His fury started to calm down and his piercing cold and evil blue eyes became soft. His hand untied her throat and he stepped back a little from her, feeling guilty and a strange feeling he never got before: a disgust for himself.

“It’s okay. Let it all out.” She gave him a little smile as he released her. She gathered him in her arms to try and keep him together.

He was once again confused. This time not because of two of his brains in the same world but because of his real reaction to her. Did he just be nice after being the evil person ever? How could she stay here with him, wanted to help him while he was literally ready to kill her?

He followed her in the medical room where she sat him on a chair, giving him another little smile. He just kept silent, ignoring how to react.

Wordlessly, Jemma cleaned and patched up his wound, squeezing his hand lightly in solidarity when he hissed at the alcohol wipes, she used. When she was done, she curled up his knuckles and let go of his hand.

She had been so soft and focused on him all the time. He did not really understand how she could be so kind with him after what happened. They were in this virtual world almost built because of her mind, but he did act like the real him. She should understand he was not the Fitz she built but still, she was there, kind, helpful, lovely…

He raised his head to her and looked at her in the eyes. Her face was soft without any fear. She was just looking at him back, a small smile on her beautiful pink lips. Yeah, he really did not understand her right now but just the fact she was not afraid about him let him know she could maybe be the one…

“Are you afraid of me?” He asked with a soft voice.

“Not at all. I’m afraid of anything bad happening to you.” She whispered back without hesitation. She was scared that he’d hurt her earlier, yes. But she wasn’t scared of him as a whole.

He kept looking at her for a while and nodded.

“And you love me, right?”

She laughed sweetly, “of course I do. Why wouldn’t I? One blows up doesn't change my feelings. Why do you ask?” 

“Because, a couple who love each other, trust in each other.” He said, taking her hand to touch her finger. “If you really love me, you will trust me and let me know about the Tesseract.”

“I trust you with my life. But there are certain rules I have to follow. I can’t let personal attachments dictate how I do my job.” She interlocked their fingers.

“Then, consider me as your professional attachment. I can be only a scientist and work with you…. As before.” He was not sure they actually worked together before but he was trying to touch her both on her sides. Professional and personal. “We did good before, right?”

“If I need an engineer, I’ll let you know.” She nodded. “And yes, we were fantastic.”

“So, let us bring back this,” he insists, squeezing her hand. “We can keep that only for each other, I know to be quiet and I will not put you in a bad decision. Nobody will notice it, we’re always together. And…,” He took both of her hands in his. “I’ll know how much I count for you if you let me help you on a project, I know I can help you on. Let me in.”

“As much as I want to, I can’t. I like following the rules and doing what’s expected of me. You know that.” She gave him a sad smile.

He pushed her hands away with a deep annoying sigh and stood up.

“What a fucking stubborn and selfish girl you are!” He said for himself, pushing her away from him. “Right, Agent Simmons! If you prefer following your rules, do it. You and I, it’s over!”

He walked to leave the room, mad, and upset it was so hard for him to get the information he needed.

Jemma couldn’t stop the tears from coming. They’ve been together for five years and he just ends it with a snap. They flowed down her face like a waterfall. And he didn’t even care.

What happened to him?

For the first time in her life, Jemma Simmons didn’t know the answer to a problem.


	6. Chapter 6

Fitz walked to the lab, went directly to her room to enter, and get those papers but once again the room was locked and only her badge permitted anyone to enter. He hit on the door, furious and turning to another desk he threw out everything on it.

Jemma took her head out of her hands at the noise. She sniffed and wiped her tears only to see Fitz walk out of the lab with anger radiating off of him.

“What are you doing?” She heard herself ask. It’s like she was in the backseat of her life.

“Fuck you! I’m just done with everything over here! And you! You’re gonna give me this information!” He yelled, walking to her to grab her wrists. “Let me know!”

Jemma stayed silent with widened eyes. Fitz was never violent before today. Why was he so rash? She stayed silent, trying to understand what happened to him.

“Last chance, Simmons. If you don’t want me to hurt you once again, let me know about the Tesseract. For once in your life, act like the fiancée you’ll be and not a fucking cold professional Agent of SHIELD!” He yelled, furious.

“SHIELD? I don’t work for SHIELD...” Then, a dam broke in Jemma. Everything fell into place. The confusion, the cold looks, the violent outbursts.

He wasn’t Fitz.

“You aren’t my fiancé. Or my boyfriend. You aren’t Fitz at all.” She said.

He looked at her, suspicious. “What are you talking about? I’m still your boyfriend, even if I said we broke up!”

“Technically, that means you’re my ex. And also, I’m not dumb. So, tell me who you really are.”

He frowned. Did something wrong happen in the other world? He checked quickly around him to notice any bad change but nothing wrong was happening, so why did she think that?

“I’m Fitz. Your Fitz.” He said, checking for some clue about what was happening.

“My Fitz wouldn’t choke me or scream and demand information he knows he can’t have.” Jemma smirked, confident about her suspicion.

He smirked back, amused. Smart girl.

“Well, it was not so hard to understand. Will you let me know now? Cause, if you understood I’m not your Fitz, you’ll know I won’t hesitate to kill you.

“Yeah. I’m done with you. Let go of me and tell me where my boyfriend is. My real boyfriend.”

He walked to her, closer. “Your boyfriend? He doesn’t exist. Well, here, no idea if you had one in the real world. But yeah, here, there is no nice, lovely, romantic, idiot Leopold Fitz. How could you even imagine me like this? It’s disgusting!”

“It’s an augmented reality?” She asked in disbelief.

He smirked, made another step to her.

“It’s called the Framework. My invention. Do you like it? Your brain inside a machine which creates a virtual reality based on your thoughts and memories…” He stopped and smiled. “Or your fantasies.”

“When we did it on the table or about to do it, was that my fantasy or yours?” She pushed this whole life is a lie thing down.

He looked at her and smiled, putting his hands in his pockets, acting like the Doctor he always was.

“Well, I won’t lie if I say I did not enjoy this part,” He said, amused. “You’re kinky, Agent Simmons. I didn’t know I was your type both in a real and virtual life.”

“Well, let’s just say, you weren’t the worst I’ve ever had. So, let me out of this reality please. I apparently have a life to get back to.”

“I was the best you ever had.” He said, a bit jealous to know she had another relationship with other guys.

“No, Milton, you’re not.” That name came randomly. No correlation at all.

“Don’t even dare calling me by another name of your fucking asshole you had in your bed!” He said, walking to her with a furious jealous look.

“Why? Are you jealous, William?” Another random name with no correlation.

He grabbed her arm violently. “Stop that! I’m Fitz! Your Fitz! The only one you love and loved!” He said with a growl.

Jemma’s smirk widened, “are you in love with me, _Fitz_?”

He looked at her eyes, then lips, her eyes again and suddenly, he kissed her with all the passion he had. He wanted to let her know that he was the only one and that any other guy could have her. She belonged to him, so her heart.

A part of Jemma told her to break away, but another part told her to push it further.

So, she did the latter.

She shoved Fitz into the desk rather roughly, pushing him to lay on his back across the table. She then crawled over him all the while never breaking their kiss.

He stuck her to him, biting and kissing her lips, while his hands tried to unbutton her jacket with a growl. 

Jemma pulled away, “all in due time. One must have patience.” She smirked and bit his lip gently before going to kiss his neck.

He growled more, sighed with pleasure, and threw his head back. “You’re as evil as me…” He stuttered. 

“No, just seductively evil.” She sighed into his mouth as she went back up to press a kiss there. Her hands then went to his tie for the second time that day, taking it off along with his jacket and vest in quick succession. 

He smirked as she almost snatched his shirt. “Babe, wait a second.” He said, pushing her a little away to him. “Are you loving me as the Doctor or as your Fitz?” 

“I’m loving you. Does that answer your question?”

“No, I want a real answer. Me the real one or the one you only created here?”

“Is it bad to say a little bit of both?” She asked timidly.

He pushed her away, and sat her on his hips, taking a serious face.

“You know if we leave this place, you won’t think the same about me because you will forget the Fitz you created here.” He said, looking at her, waiting for a serious answer.

“But I barely know you, so how could I love you? It’s an attraction for now. Do you love me?”

Her answer hurt him a little inside, right in his heart. He did not know if it was him or the Fitz from here but the fact that she would not love him outside this virtual cage made him sad. However, he could not admit he was love her too, she was right, they barely knew each other. He didn’t know her at all.

“I should leave this place, now.” He said, pushing her back from him. “I won’t get the information I want because whatever I could try, you will never tell me.” He rebuttoned as he could his shirt, vest, and jacket, tried to flatten his hair as he loved to do it. “I want to get out of here and try to know about the Tesseract by myself.”

He froze in the middle of the room, thinking.

“I should’ve known that you only fabricated this for that stupid cube.” She sighed. “Can’t wait to go back home.”

He smiled, turned to her. “I forgot to mention. I go back to the real world but you, you stay inside the Framework. And trust me this time, I won’t let you get a nice, lovely place. It’s gonna be worse than you ever imagine, my dear.”

“How is that fair? You little asshole. Just because I said I didn’t love you because I don’t know you well. Which is the nicest reason considering the fact you kidnapped me and put me in a virtual world, choked me, grabbed me, pushed me among other things. And yet despite all of that, I am still at fault. Wow. And here I thought you had a brain.” She walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“It doesn’t work, my dear.” He said, caressing her cheek with his finger. “It’s too late, I’m back to my evil soul. Nothing will hurt me now.” He said and winked.

Then, he stepped back from her, imagined taking off an invisible helmet from his head and suddenly…


	7. Chapter 7

Fitz woke up with a shock, back to the real world. He quickly took off the real helmet from his head and tried to calm down his heart and dazzled head. It was so real and difficult to live at the same time. He didn’t know where he really was right now but the white walls, the lights, the smell of the lab and the table where the body of Agent Simmons lied, confirmed him it was back to the real world.

He raised his head to Agent Simmons. She was like she was sleeping, eyes closed without moving at all. He checked her vitals on the panel. She was calm but he felt she could be agitated there, trying to find a solution to escape.

He ran to the panel quickly, changed a lot of calculation, modified some space and elements to put her right in Hell and raised his hand up to press the button. But then, he stopped. His eyes fell on Jemma, and he looked at her for a while.

Could he do that? After what they lived there together? He shook his head, trying to stay focused and looked at Jemma once again. What happened there was not just nothing. He literally lived it, he was half the Fitz she imagined. A happy one, loved and without any pressure on his shoulders. No, he could never be this Fitz. He loved himself too much to change. But her…

She changed something inside him. She gave him something he never had and she warmed his cold heart.

The Doctor sighed deeply, head down, thinking. The Framework marked him. And she marked him too. He could not continue. He could not hurt you more than he already did. He was evil, a monster, yes, but for the first time, he regretted hurting her. For the first time, he decided to change his rules.

The Doctor passed his hand to another button and pressed it. The machine stopped, the light turned off and he stepped back from it. The rules had changed.

The world was black, Jemma couldn’t see. But she could feel jolts in her mind as memories came flooding back to her like a dam breaking.

She gasped as she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings.

“Where- where am I?” She asked frantically.

The Doctor took a deep breath and walked to her, trying to keep his cold and evil face. He looked at her.

“You’re back in the real world. I brought you back.” He said with a detached tone he didn’t really control. 

“Why?” She was so confused.

“Well, you found - I don’t know how - a way to keep all your information for yourself in a world you created and where I was in. So, why waste my time again in another world? The machine is wonderful but it doesn’t work with you.” He said, sadly but it was not the real reason why he put her back in the real world.

Jemma smiled at her victory. “So, what now? Will you hurt me? Will you lock me up? What will you do?”

He smiled, nodded while he put his hands in his pocket, walking to the desk.

“Actually, I’m gonna just release you,” He said, pressing a button on his desk to call guards. “Ordinarily, I would not do that. I would just put a bullet in your skull and clean the room.” He froze and got a chill in his back. “You’re free. Soldiers will walk you to the frontier and leave you all alone in a desert place to not let you know where we are. You’ll get a phone to call your colleagues. You’re free, Agent Jemma Simmons. “

He went to sit on his chair, behind his desk and turned his head away, looking at an empty dot.

Jemma contemplated for a moment. She had grown attached to this man. But on the other hand, she was free. Yet, it could be a trap. It probably was. He is Hydra after all.

“Ok.” She said after a few moments. “Goodbye Dr. Leopold Fitz.” She nodded to him as she got up. As she was in the doorway, she looked to him before kissing him on the cheek slowly.

“Thank you for letting me go.” She whispered with a smile before stepping out.

A pinch in his heart hurt him violently. He wanted to grab her and force her to stay, to never leave him, but he could not, he could not force her and certainly not forced her to love him. He was evil. He was HYDRA. What he lived for some great moments in the Framework was already a wonderful gift she offered him. And it would be the only one he could get. The only one of his entire life.

He didn’t answer, letting her go. The guards appeared on the door, waiting for the woman. He made them a sign saying they should release her with the protocol he put years ago but never used. Until now. For her.

Another pinch in his heart. He grimaced, turned his head away to avoid looking at this hurtful scene. It was better in this way.

Jemma looked at Fitz one more time before letting the guards escort her. She wouldn’t betray her own morals for someone else. That just wasn’t her. Even if she loved him.

But it wasn’t love. They didn’t get that far.

And they never would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one chapter before the end of the story :)


	8. Chapter 8

A week later, the Doctor was working on another world for the Framework. Another one where he was trying to find a way to see Jemma again. He was literally obsessed with it. Each time he was sending himself in the Framework, he saw her, happy, strong, smart, and just like him. Evil but so deep in love with him. They were together there, they were loving each other, running the world together, unstoppable together…

Each time, it was exactly what the Doctor wanted and needed but once he was back to reality, in the empty room where he was all alone, hiding his true feelings for her, the pain came back. He had never really been hurt or sad in his life but since Jemma had been banished, he couldn't help but feel pain. Quietly as he continued to act like the monster he was. A wounded monster in his heart that kept bleeding from the loss of Jemma and her love he would never get, except in a stupid virtual world that would never be real.

* * *

During the week, Jemma had barely any time to herself. She was debriefed then set off to work on catching Hydra. She didn’t know where they were and the phone call was unable to be tracked as she was driven away from the base to make the call.

The time she did have, she thought of him. His hands, his face, his willingness to let her go. That was noble. Maybe he wasn’t the monster everyone described.

But still, she couldn’t go back. She’d betray everyone, including herself, for someone who wasn’t a good person. Not a monster but not good.

She hated herself for ever thinking of him for anything greater than what he was.

* * *

Later on, that day, the Doctor decided to leave all his current projects to focus on the Framework, once again. But this time, while he was excited to drown in the virtual world to see her again and live the life he could never get, he realized something. He was addicted to a person that hated him.

Another new pain. This time his heart hurt so much that he screamed and put a hand on his chest. It was too much. And it was time to stop it. He looked at the machine, kept his eyes stuck on it for a long time. And suddenly, he destroyed it. He destroyed the machine with all his rage and strength, ruining forever the only way he had to see her again.

Once he realized what he did, he knelt on the floor, out of energy, his eyes full of tears, his heart hurting more than he ever thought it could happen. Maybe he will die? It would be better than just thinking he could never find a way to see her again.

But nothing happened. Dr. Leopold Fitz was still here, still the evil monster, head of HYDRA.

He looked at the machine destroyed once again and finally stood up. He needed to leave HYDRA for some hours. So, he left everything in the mess and just left the lab to go home.

* * *

Jemma sighed at another dead end. She just wanted to go home. To England. To Sheffield. The country. A small part of her wanted Fitz to be there as well. But she pushed those thoughts away. She was just so tired.

So, after she hit the dead end she went into her bunk and collapsed on the bed of exhaustion, praying to dream of Fitz.

When she woke up, something inside her snapped. She felt at a loss. SHIELD wasn’t doing anything for her. She didn’t want to do stuff here. Sure, she wanted to save the world, but she didn’t have to. And SHIELD is just as shady. Fitz was always straightforward. SHIELD wasn’t. She finally realized her true purpose. It was to innovate in the way she wanted. And HYDRA allowed that. She needed to shed her good girl persona and become the person she needed to be in order to be with him. The person she wanted to be.

Not a hero, but a scientist.

Avoiding everyone, she dug in to find everything about him.

Finally, she found an address, 4722 Monkey Way. Interesting name. She packed up her belongings and left without saying a word to anyone.

When she got there a few hours later, she decided to wait for him since he was somewhere else.

* * *

The Doctor, or Fitz now he was more Fitz than the Doctor at that moment, parked his car in front of his house. He was previously stopped at a shop to buy a bottle of Whisky that he wanted to drink until the last drop. He wanted to change his mind, forget work and HYDRA, and certainly drown his grief in alcohol. The only way for him to succeed.

He got out from his car and walked slowly to his door. He didn’t even notice a lot of letters on the ground. He climbed his steps and while he was looking for his keys, he noticed a black form in the shadow of the night sitting in the chair. 

“Who’s here?!” He said, holding the gun hiding behind his back. “Show yourself!”

In a silky robe, Jemma walked out. “Hey.” She smiled.

He first recognized her voice before her face. And when he did, his heart missed a beat. The gun he was holding fell on his side while the bottle of Whiskey fell on the ground with a crash but he didn’t care. She was here. In front of him.

“Jemma…” He said with a large smile on his face, his eyes shining in the night. “Is that you?” He had to ask, thinking it was maybe a hallucination, his tortured brain imagining her being here after he destroyed the only way to see her again.

She nodded. “I love you. And I’m sorry I didn’t say that sooner. But I want to be in HYDRA, with you. And hopefully, this will help me climb the ranks.” She pulled out a file. “Everything on the Tesseract.”

He could not believe she said that. He was literally dreaming it, nothing else. His smile grew up as his heart beat faster in his chest but then, he fell back in reality. His smile fell, and his face turned dark and suspicious. He stepped back, pointing back his gun on her, checking around for some agents of SHIELD hiding in the trees or behind the houses. It was a trap.

“I advise you, if you try to kidnap me, you’ll be dead before they move.” He said, with a threatening voice.

“There’s no agents here. I am not with SHIELD. How can I prove it?”

He checked again around him, not sure, but then, when he noticed her bag, he frowned and looked at her.

“Will you tell me anything about the Tesseract?” He asked.

“Anything you’d like. But it's also all in the file.”

He took the file she was handing to him and looked at it for a while. In the night, he could not see a lot, so he decided to enter, made her a sign to follow him and when she did, he locked them inside.

“You do anything wrong and you’re dead, understood?” He asked.

“Understood.” She nodded and followed him.

He dared forget her for a while, looking at the file, focused. He could not believe it. Everything was written in there, everything he wanted to know. He went to sit on the couch, read each page while she dared to look at his private home to better know him.

“So?” She asked after a while.

He finally raised his head to her with a victorious big smile. “It’s perfect. Everything I needed to know is there and now I know exactly what to do to run the world and finally destroy SHIELD.” He said that, looking at her right in the eyes, waiting for her reaction.

Jemma smiled and went to sit on his thighs. “You mean that _we’ll_ run the world, right?”

He looked at her a bit surprised and shocked. This was the same scene that he constantly wanted to see in the Framework when they were together and each time, he heard her saying that. He could not help to get a goosebumps in his back while his heart accelerated like a fool in his chest.

“You really chose me? Me, the evil Doctor from HYDRA? The one who hurt you and tortured you? The one who-

She put her finger on his lips.

“I choose you, Leopold James Fitz.” She said.

“You’re ready to run the world with me?” He asked. “You’re ready to destroy SHIELD, lose your colleagues and friends?”

“I’m ready to do it as long as you’re with me.” She gave him a smile and wrapped her arms around his neck.

His heart missed a beat. This time it was real, this time she was real. He smiled back to her, sat her more comfortably on his thighs and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“If you know how much I wanted this moment to be real.” He said, with a hoarse voice. “I thought I would never see you again and lost you forever. I’m not that kind of guy who loves and shows emotions but for you... “ He stopped, closed his eyes. “I could be the evil monster with a heart…”

“You’re my monster. And all you have to do is love me as I love you. Can you do that?” She pressed her forehead against his.

He smiled, squeezed her hips. “I can give you everything from me, Babe.”

“Good. So, what’s taking you so long?” She grinned.

“So long for what?” He asked, putting his hands in her back to pull her closer to him.

“For you to show me your bedroom.” She whispered in his ear before kissing it.

He laughed, a real one, for the first time. He wrapped her against him and walked quickly to his bedroom.

“Oh, Jemma Simmons, you’ve no idea how you stole my heart.” He said, closing the door behind him with his feet.

“Oh, Leopold Fitz, you are inside my head.” She laughed as he laid her gently on the bed to kiss her.

**The end**


End file.
